NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: FLATIRON -- BUZZ

By COREY KILGANNON

Published: March 26, 2000

THE SETTING -- An adult education class called ''Breaking Into Adult Movies,'' taught by Candida Royalle, a pornographic film star and producer, at the School for the Physical City, a public school on East 25th Street. The Tuesday night class was held in the cafeteria, where student-made banners celebrated the importance of education.

The men exiting the class next door, ''Get Completely Out of Debt,'' elbowed one another like schoolboys as they sneaked peeks at Ms. Royalle in her tight black turtleneck and skirt and black leather boots.

The Learning Annex booklet describing the class promised that it would cover how to become a star of pornographic movies. But many of the 40 or so people who paid the $50 fee to attend -- most were men in their 30's and 40's -- said they wanted to learn how to work behind, not in front of, the camera.

THE BUZZ -- Ms. Royalle said she started acting in X-rated films in San Francisco after graduating from college in the late 1970's. After doing about 25 of them, she decided to produce her own videos, erotica made from a woman's perspective. The plan was to feature less explicit sex.

This scared off some distributors, she said, but a dozen successful videos later, she is still in business.

One student who seemed particularly transfixed by Ms. Royalle was Timothy McLaughlin, 30, a telemarketer from Canarsie, Brooklyn. He wondered if any videos she starred in were still available.

''They're the good ones,'' she said, flipping back her long blond hair.

Darryl Gardner from Red Hook, Brooklyn, asked about the stamina of male pornography actors. ''I'm a boxer and they tell me not to have sex before a fight,'' he said. ''Do these actors do the same thing?''

Ms. Royalle answered: ''Some actors refrain having sex that morning, but you decide that for yourself. They have incredible appetites, but no, there's no secret serum.'' Producers look for male actors with sensuality, she added, not just sexual prowess.

A fellow in the back row, chewing on a matchstick, interrupted to give his recipe for sexual stamina. ''Bananas and egg whites,'' he said to Mr. Gardner, who raised an eyebrow and jotted it down.

A tall, handsome man with a sunlamp tan, wearing a diamond stud earring and tight black denim, was there with his girlfriend, who wore shiny black thigh-high boots.

''I'm here because I wanted to know what goes through the minds of these actors and actresses,'' said the man. He would not give his name. ''I teach school in New Jersey,'' he said. ''If they knew I was here, I'd probably be out of a job.'' COREY KILGANNON